Taming Darkness: Artemis Lupine #4

by Catherine Banks

  “I have a plan that I believe will ensure the demise of his reign. It will take a lot of coordination and will require you all to trust me, but if we do this I am sure we will win.”

  “Is it suicidal?” Ares asked.

  I sighed in exasperation. “No.”

  “Has anyone contacted Draco Blu since the funeral?” I asked.

  “No,” Zeus said, “The dragons have always preferred to be neutral so we did not contact them to discuss our battle.”

  “I’ll contact him tomorrow,” I said, “I am sure that they will come when I tell him of the news.”

  “What news?” Hera asked.

  “I would prefer to reveal it to all of the races at once. I do not wish to cause undue alarm. I would ask that we reconvene tomorrow morning and I will reveal everything then and we can begin to arrange our attack.”

  Zeus nodded his head. “Agreed. We will reconvene tomorrow at eight in the morning.”

  I stood up and Ares linked hands with me, walked beside me as we headed out of the room and to our chambers. “You seem different,” he said softly as we walked.

  I smiled up at him. “I am just remembering that I am not a little girl anymore. I am over one hundred years old and I am the leader of the werewolves just the same as you are. I have to start acting like the alpha that I am.”

  He wrapped his arm around my waist and whispered into my ear, “I like it when you talk like an alpha.”

  I laughed and pulled away from him when we got to our chambers. “As soon as Victor pops in I will tell you what I learned since I know you will pester me until I tell you.”

  “I do not pester people,” Ares said indignantly, “I order them and they surrender and gravel at my feet.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “I am not going to gravel at your feet.”

  Amber rolled over his eyes and he said, “That would be a very fun thing to see though. Perhaps I should give you an order as your alpha.”

  I smirked at him and backed up towards one of the chairs in the room. “You could try.”

  I started to sit down and Victor said, “While I do find our friendship has grown, I had not known it had moved to the point where you would sit in my lap.”

  I growled and spun around, sitting in the chair opposite him. “I hate when you do that.”

  He smiled. “Ah, but I do love the shock it gives people.”

  “Hopefully he gets over it within the next hundred years,” Ares said.

  “So,” Victor said, drawing us back to the topic at hand, “What news do you have? You have guarded your mind so well with thoughts of unicorns and kittens that I have not been able to discern it.”

  “Unicorns and kittens?” Ares asked.

  I shrugged. “I had to figure out a way to keep him from hearing my thoughts and I figured he would grow bored of me thinking about those animals.”

  “Well played,” Victor said, “Although I did see that whatever it is will cause widespread panic across the world.”

  Ares sat down in the chair beside Victor and I took a deep breath and began. “Your father believed that I was permanently in his hold so he thought it was okay to divulge his strategy to me because there was no way I could get the information back to Ares and let him know. Maurice has stationed vampires all around the world in anticipation of our group attacking him. When we lead our attack he will signal his vampires who will attack all of the defenseless beings who were left behind. They will march into Lyngvi for example and his vampires will kill every female, child, and submissive male that has been left there.”

  Ares growled and began pacing around the room. Victor linked his hands together and rested his chin on top of them with his elbows resting on the arms of the chair he was sitting in. “It’s a brilliant plan.”

  “Even more brilliant now that we know,” Ares said in a deep growl.

  “How so?” I asked.

  “Now that we know what he is planning, we will have to split up our attack force. Instead of all of our strongest attacking him, we will have to send some of each to protect our weakest. He has successfully separated us and diminished our force,” Victor said. He looked at me a moment and then said, “But you have a plan for that.” I smiled and started thinking about a kitten riding a unicorn. He scoffed. “Think about all the kittens and unicorns you want. I will wait until tomorrow to hear your plan.” He stood up and bowed to me. “Good bye, Mon Papillion.”

  He disappeared and Ares plopped down into the chair he had just vacated. “You have a plan?” I nodded my head. “Are you going to tell me it?” he asked. I shook my head. He sighed. “I am your mate and you will not tell me your plan?”

  I smiled and said, “I have a plan and I will reveal it and these details to everyone.” Something moved inside of my stomach and I looked down at it in shock. “What was that?”

  Ares walked over to me and rested his hand on my stomach. “Did the baby kick?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. It felt like a weird bump.” I looked at my stomach, which was noticeably larger now. When had my stomach expanded so much?

  He titled his head to the side and placed his ear to my stomach. The strange feeling happened again and Ares smiled. “The baby’s kicking.”

  I smiled and rested my hand on top of Ares’ head. “In order for my plan to work, we will have to wait until after I have our child.”

  Ares lifted his head up and rested his chin on my stomach so that he could look at me. “Why do I get the feeling that I am not going to like this plan?”

  I leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “You are a very perceptive man.”

  He growled. “You are infuriating.”

  I closed my eyes and felt exhausted. Would we be able to cure Ares before I had our child? “Am I going to have stretch marks?” I asked him with my eyes still closed.

  He laughed softly. “Yes, but they will heal almost instantly. After you have the baby your body will repair itself quickly.”

  “I’m scared,” I whispered.

  He moved and before I could inhale we were lying on the bed and he was cuddling with me underneath the blankets. “I will do everything that I can to keep you safe.”

  I nuzzled his throat and intertwined our legs together. “I’m not scared because of that. I’m scared of childbirth.”

  “Speak to my mother. She can talk with you about it and ease your fears,” he whispered.

  I kissed his neck and then settled against him. “Sometimes I wish we could pause the world and simply live in moments like this.”

  “So do I,” he whispered.

  “Ares?” Koda called through the closed door. “Has Artemis eaten yet?”

  “No,” Ares said, “Please get her something and me as well.”

  We heard Koda’s footsteps walk away and only after I was sure that he was gone did I relax against Ares again. I dozed in his arms until Koda returned and then tried to eat despite the nausea which had decided to return as soon as I sat up.

  “Get Selene,” Ares whispered to Koda when he thought that I was not paying attention.

  “She is at the door,” Victor said from the chair beside me.

  I lifted my head to look at him and immediately regretted it. Victor grabbed me and a moment later set me on the floor of the bathroom with my head over the toilet and my hair pulled back in his hands. “Thank you,” I thought as I threw up everything that I had just eaten.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Ares came into the bathroom and took Victor’s place holding my hair. “Selene is here and she has good news.”

  I took a deep breath and forced my stomach to stop squeezing its contents out. I hoped this was not going to be a constant thing. After being sure that I was done throwing up I nodded at Ares and he picked me up and carried me out to the bed.

  Selene placed her hand on my forehead and chanted a fever reduction spell and then made me drink a disgusting tasting anti-nausea potion. “Better?” she asked. I nodded my head and she sat down besi
de me on the bed. “I spoke with Draco Blu yesterday. He and two thirds of his flight will be joining our battle against Maurice.”

  “That’s great,” I said with a smile. Having the dragons would be a huge advantage for us because of the fire they produced in an endless quantity.

  “And,” she continued, pulling a chain from underneath her shirt which lifted a vial that was attached to it, “he gave me this.”

  The vial had green liquid inside of it that glowed softly.

  Ares walked towards us and Selene placed the vial and necklace in his hand. “Is this dragon’s blood?” he asked.

  She nodded her head. “It is Draco Blu’s blood to be precise.”

  “The Draco of the dragons gave you his blood?” Victor asked in shock.

  I smiled and felt extremely grateful for the friendship that I had created with him. He had given me many gifts and had protected me many times when I was Chandra. I would need to find a way to repay the large debt I now owed him. It would not be easy, but it was necessary.

  Selene said, “She was the favored hatchling of Draco Blu and his flight. It is a very rare honor.”

  “She is very good at getting people to like her,” Victor said.

  I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I did not think he meant any disrespect so I let the comment lie. “Have you chosen a sacrifice yet?” I asked Ares.

  He shook his head and Victor said, “We have one chosen for him.”

  “Who?” Ares asked, obviously not happy with that news.

  “A prisoner who was sentenced to be put to death, but whose sentence has yet to be carried out. He committed violent crimes that are unforgivable and as such there is no reason why he should not be used for a sacrifice.”

  “Will the death be painful?” Ares asked Selene.

  Selene glanced at me and I knew as well as she did that sometimes sacrifices in spells were very painful. Often times the person would scream for the duration of the spell. “It will be painful, but will not last more than two minutes.”

  Ares did not look reassured by that answer. “I will pick the sacrifice myself.”

  “You had better choose in the next day or two,” Selene warned. “Artemis is getting worse and the baby is beginning to suffer.”

  My hand instinctively went to my stomach and I felt terror at the thought of my unborn child suffering inside of me. Ares set the vial of Blu’s blood in my hand and walked towards the door. “Victor, would you please protect Artemis for a few hours?”

  “Of course,” Victor said and then stood up.

  Ares shut the door behind him and I stared at it in shock. “What just happened?”

  Selene stood up and smiled at me. “I will come see you tomorrow. We should be able to perform the spell then.”

  She left and I looked at Victor who was frowning. “What just happened?” I asked again.

  “Ares went to blow of some steam and then to find someone suitable for the sacrifice. Now that he knows the baby is in danger he will not hesitate in picking someone. Don’t worry. He will be back soon.”

  I laid down on the bed and asked, “Why is he being so stubborn about choosing a sacrifice?” I really did not understand it. I would have chosen someone as soon as I found out about it if I had been able to.

  “He does not like the idea of picking someone to die in his place. It is different when that person is attacking you and it is either them or you then it is to choose someone to be used in a spell. Many consider using a sacrifice to be a dark art and stay away from it.”

  “Selene told him already that I would die as well as him and so would the baby. So why is he now going? Why has he been putting it off?” I asked angrily.

  “I understand your frustration, but Ares is very old and is very set in his ways. He is not used to not being in control. He is used to taking care of everything himself, but now he cannot. He is upset because you constantly put yourself in danger and he is upset that you and your child are in danger and he is upset that he cannot rip off Death’s head in order to fix it all.”

  “Artemis?” a soft male voice asked from outside my door. “Can I come in?”

  “Who?” I started to ask.

  Victor whispered, “Apollo. I do not think Ares would like it if…”

  “Come in,” I called, not letting Victor finish.

  Victor sighed. “Ares is going to have a brain aneurism when he learns that I let him in here with you.”

  I smiled. “You’ll protect me if I need it.”

  Victor rolled his eyes. “Don’t patronize me, Artemis. I am over a thousand years old.”

  Apollo walked into the room and I was shocked at how similar we looked. His hair was incredibly blonde now though. It looked almost magical. “Hello, Apollo,” I said as I sat up. He was wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He was a halfbreed like me so didn’t that mean that he could switch to a wolf form?

  Victor set pillows behind me so that I was propped up and discreetly shook his head at me. “What business do you have with Queen Artemis?” he asked Apollo when he turned around to face him.

  “I heard that you were not feeling well,” he said as he walked closer to the bed.

  “Just a slight side effect to being pregnant,” I said with a smile.

  He smiled back at me. “You lie very poorly.”

  Victor stepped between Apollo and the bed and said, “That is close enough.”

  “Is he your bodyguard?” Apollo asked me. “I thought they said you were the prince or something?”

  “He is a friend and yes, he is the Prince of Vampires,” I said before Victor decided to show him how strong he was.

  “You have a lot of friends,” Apollo said. He sat down in one of the chairs in front of the bed and said, “I came to apologize to you.”

  “Now is not the time for your apology,” Victor said angrily.

  “Victor, it’s alright,” I said angrily. I hated that everyone was babying me.

  “No, he is right,” Apollo said. “When you are feeling better and your mate is back then I will come visit you again.”

  “Apollo,” I called, stopping him. He turned around and faced me, waiting for me to talk. “Why did you surrender after the battle?”

  “Another time,” he said with a shake of his head. “We will talk about that at a later time.”

  “Thank you for coming to see me,” I said with a smile.

  He smiled back. “I am glad that you are alive. I felt…strange when you died and I did not like it.” He seemed shocked at what he had said and left without another word.

  “I do not trust him,” Victor said.

  “He saved me from my father and killed him for me. I trust him.” Plus Achilles had told me to make amends with him and I would.

  “Artemis, it was not…” I glared at him and he stopped talking, raising his hands in surrender. “Alright.”

  Koda came into the room with his mother behind him. She smiled at me and hurried over to put her hand on my stomach and whisper to the baby. It was strange, but I was not about to disrespect her by telling her I thought she was weird. Victor smiled and then sat down in one of the chairs to relax.

  She stood up and asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “Same,” I lied.

  She tsked at me. “You cannot lie to me sweetheart. I am older than even Ares.”

  “I’m scared,” I admitted. “I’m scared because the baby is beginning to suffer according to Selene. I am scared because my stomach is expanding very very quickly and I am scared because I have never had a baby and I’m afraid of what it is going to be like.” Tears filled my eyes and I wiped them away, hating that my emotions were getting the better of me.

  She sat down on the bed beside me and put her arm around my shoulders. “It is alright to be scared sometimes. I was scared when I had Ares. I was terrified that Hera would try to kill him. I was even scared when I had Matt and Koda because I was huge with twins.”

  “Will it hurt?” I asked her.


  She nodded her head. “Yes, but you will survive. Our deliveries are usually very quick and although they are painful, our bodies repair the damage very quickly. You will be exhausted for the first couple of hours afterwards, but then you will be good as new.”

  “Will the stretch marks heal?” I asked softly.

  She laughed. “Yes, child. You will look like it never happened.”

  I exhaled in relief and rubbed my stomach. “We haven’t even picked a name yet.”

  “I believe the healer will be coming today to tell you the gender. I would wait until Ares is here though,” Koda said.

  Of course I would wait for Ares. Why did he think I would do something so rude?

  “Where is my eldest?”

  “Seeking out a sacrifice?” Victor said from his chair.

  “Good,” she said as she stood up. “It is about time he took charge of this.”

  I laid down again and closed my eyes. “Why am I so tired?”

  “You are growing a being inside of your body,” she said, “it takes up a lot of your nutrients and energy. In fact, Koda, would you get us some food?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said obediently and left the room.

  She looked at Victor. “May I have some privacy to speak with my daughter-in-law?”

  Victor frowned. “Normally I would leave, but Ares asked me to protect her.”

  “I am not going to hurt her,” she said angrily.

  Victor shrugged. “I don’t know that for sure. Besides, I would rather not leave her alone with anyone but Ares. She is very vulnerable right now and needs as much protection as possible.”

  “And you think that I would not be able to protect her? You forget that I am older than even you, Victor of the Vampires. I could be Alpha still, if I so desired.”

  “I do not doubt your strength. I am simply refusing to leave Artemis without me as an additional defense,” he said adamantly. I had never seen him so serious about anything before.

  She glared at him, but finally relinquished and turned to me. “The mind reading vampire already knows this so I might as well discuss it in front of him. Have you talked with Ares about Koda’s feelings for you?”